La Spezia Apartments

We recently completed a trip through Europe by train staying in each country in four star hotels. The one hotel that stands out the most from all the rest was the Poet Hotel, La Spezia, Italy, unfortunately not for all the right reasons ! Although out of the seven hotels we stayed , the Poet was the most basic of all, in fact we'd be generous giving it a three star. The room we stayed in was very cramped, no cupboards, no draws, or wardrobe to unpack clothes etc. Just a bed, an open clothes rail, a mirror and tiny small shelf-desk. Although we found it clean this fell far below the standards in all the other hotels we stayed. We went through all the channels on the T.V and the BBC, CNN were not available. For a language commonly used widely around the world, you would have thought there would have been at least one channel in English available. When asking the receptionist which way to the bar, she smiled and said ”the reception desk is the hotel bar ” and that they would get us drinks and we could drink them in the breakfast area, goes to say, we didn't bother. The Hotel's web site clearly shows a bar but we didn't see one and to sit in the breakfast area, no thanks. There is a sign in the hotel saying ”Enjoy the Fun” I'm afraid no fun to be had here. We did contact our travel company and they were very quick to get straight back with a message saying that they had contacted the hotel management and that they were aware of the issues. No one contacted us from the management rest of the three nights we stayed but we decided to not spoil the holiday and tough it out. This hotel was more like an up-market student hostel and clearly if you like living out of your case off the floor this is the place for you. Alan Carlisle

This hotel has an excellent location, excellent breakfast and very nice, friendly and informative staff at the reception. Large and clean room. But..the beds weren't the most comfortable, the shower very small, and one elevator that was very slow and not always available.

The hotel is in an excellent location, only a few minutes away from the train station. Some of the rooms in the hotel have been renovated, but the room I stayed in was not renovated because it was a budget room. The room is underground. The walls and carpets in the corridor are dark in color and there is insufficient light. It feels a bit gloomy. The furniture in the room is shabby, the carpet is dull and the hair is falling off. I feel uncomfortable. I stayed for two nights and stayed there the next day. Skin allergies appear. Moreover, because it is a ”affordable” (hotel definition) room, it does not provide distilled water or a water boiler, nor does it provide free tea bags or coffee. The most outrageous thing is that there are no water cups, and the plastic cups used for brushing teeth will be taken away the next day! We booked five rooms. I stayed in an ”affordable” room, but the hotel did not indicate in advance that the room I stayed in did not provide the above items, so I just thought that compared with the other four rooms, my room was smaller. That’s all.

I loved this stay a lot more then some of the hotels in my trip, felt nice having your own key to a building. The room really surprised me, it was really nice and also in such a good spot of la spezia. La spezia surprised me, I was nervous as it seemed a bit rough around the edges but honestly such a lovely stay with trendy bars in every alleyway, just got to explore the streets. 10 min walk to the station which is right on the main Cinque Terre line going to the towns, I was a pro by the end of my stay. I felt like this was the place I actually met other Italians as the cinque Terre can be super congested with tourists so I really recommend staying here instead of one of the 5 towns and making base doing day trips to the villages. The reception were really lovely and helped you try and understand the area before letting you go off to your apartment room. I didn't spend much time in the room but I slept really well and all the facilities worked and there was information in the hallway if needed about ferry times and spots to go to. La Spezia was also one of the more affordable parts of Italy I went to with some really good food and drinks.

We stayed 4 nights. It was great. They put us in one of the rooms on the station side of the railway tunnel. Just a hop, skip and a jump from the station which was ideal for us as we arrived by train, had a few days in the Cinque Terre, took the train to Pisa for a day ams then took the train to Rome at the end. It’s also very handy to La Spezia town, restaurants etc. we also walked from there to the Ferry to go to Porto Venere for the day. reception was very helpful. Room was great and the coffee machine and pods were much appreciated. Location excellent. The only negative (which didn’t bother us too much) - no elevator. Other than that, we had a great stay.

The rooms are very nice, but a bit small. However, there is no reception. If you are lucky you will see small plaque (see photo) near a large door which infers that you are in the right place. However, there is no clue as to how to get in. When I rang the number on the booking form I was informed that I had been sent a WhatApp message with instructions as to how to get in - not a lot of use when travelling all day on Italian trains with no wifi. To be fair, the chap did turn up within 5 mins or so and let us in, but not a great start.

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